Have you ever wanted to create a meaningful keepsake with your kids that captures their little handprints in a fun and unique way?
I’m going to share with you today an easy and inexpensive craft idea that your kids are sure to love – a handprint swan keepsake canvas!
This canvas craft creates the shape of two swans using your children’s handprints and is such a special way to preserve the memory of their tiny hands at this age.
The colorful handprint swan canvas would look adorable hanging on a wall at home, in your kid’s room or preschool classroom. You could even gift it for mom on Valentine’s Day or recreate it for grandma for Mother’s Day.
Making this unique painted canvas is a fun, kid-friendly art project that creates a simple yet beautiful decorative swan piece to forever remember this stage of your children’s childhood.
Let me show you how you can guide your little artists to create these special handprint swan keepsakes!
Crafting with handprints is such a special way for kids to creatively express themselves while leaving their unique mark. This project allows them to transform their tiny handprints into the graceful shape of a swan floating on a painted canvas “pond”.
Craft Supplies:
- Blank White Canvas
- Light Blue Craft Paint
- Dark Blue Craft Paint
- White Craft Paint
- Orange Craft Paint
- Black Craft Paint
- Pink Craft Paint
- Paint Brushes
- Small Paper Plate
- Baby Wipes
Directions:
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First things first – grab your small paper plate, two shades of blue craft paint and two foam paint brushes.
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Squirt the two paint colors {in separate piles} on the paper plate.
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Start off by painting the entire canvas so the two white handprints will stand out on the canvas. Go ahead and paint the entire canvas completely light blue.
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Following that step, go ahead and use a new paint brush to paint a darker shade of blue craft paint on the bottom of the canvas for the “water” of the craft.
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Next up – the hand prints for the swan’s body. Working one hand at a time, you will want to paint your child’s little hands completely white and have them press them on the canvas. You will want the fingers facing outward, while the palms of the hands, inward. This will be the body of swan. The fingers are their wings/feathers.
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Now are the details. I painted the swan’s neck in a heart curve/white and added a small pink heart above the heads.
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This was followed with an orange painted beak and black painted eyes for the swan’s head.
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To finish off our handprint swan artwork, I added a dot pattern around the edge of the canvas. This was done by using the bottom end of my foam paint brush. I just dabbed it in paint, then on the canvas.
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Then of course, once done, set aside to let it dry completely.
- To hang, you can easily hot glue some ribbon to the back.
- Don’t forget to add dates/ages/name on the back, so you remember when it was created!
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BTW – We also have a handprint flamingo PAPER version of this craft, that you should check out today! With that tutorial, you skip the need for a painter’s canvas and just print to dive right into the handprint aspect!
As always – happy crafting, my friends! When you recreate this swan handprint craft idea, be sure to snap a few pictures and come share them on our Facebook wall for us to see! It seriously makes my day to see those pictures posted on our feed. #gluedtomycrafts
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